After placing the blame on BP, the chief executive of Chevron tried to paint his own giant oil company in a different light than BP:
John S. Watson, chief executive of Chevron, also pointed an implicit finger at BP, saying that every Chevron employee and contractor has the authority to stop work immediately if they see anything unsafe. Congressional investigators charge that BP went ahead with risky procedures even after repeated warnings from company workers and contract employees on the ill-fated rig.
"Our internal review confirmed what our regular audits have told us," Mr. Watson testified. "Chevron's deepwater drilling and well control practices are safe and environmentally sound."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06...
However, Henry Waxman and Edward Markey soon dispelled the myths that Big Oil will perpetuate to protect profits and keep America from investing in research and development of the solution to fossil fuels such as bio-fuels and other fuels of the future:
Representative Henry A. Waxman, the California Democrat who is chairman of the House committee, focused on the spill response plans of the five companies. They were prepared by an outside contractor and are virtually identical, Mr. Waxman said.
Each of the plans addresses a worst-case spill. BP's plan says it can handle a spill of 250,000 barrels a day; Chevron and Shell say they can handle 200,000 barrels a day. The current estimate for the BP spill is about 30,000 barrels a day, and it is clear that the company's plan was not adequate to deal with it.
Mr. Waxman said it is clear that the plans are "just paper exercises."
Mr. Markey went further in ripping apart the oil executive's myth of being prepared for such an incident, the "Aberration":
Mr. Markey added: "In preparation for this hearing, the committee reviewed the oil spill safety response plans for all of the companies here today. What we found was that these five companies have response plans that are virtually identical. The plans cite identical response capabilities and tout identical ineffective equipment. In some cases, they use the exact same words. We found that all of these companies, not just BP, made the exact same assurances."
He even added this shocking fact that should shatter even the staunchest capitalist's faith in these oil companies:
"Two other plans are such dead ringers for BP's that they list a phone number for the same long-dead expert," he said.
So there you have it in a nutshell. One thing I continually ask myself is how, after the years of these very folks exploiting every situation and tragedy to charge want they want producing record profits at a time of "war" while receiving Corporate Welfare and huge tax breaks could anyone even consider trusting these folks?? They have already proven they care about nobody as long as they can rake in record profits. They will pinch pennies and cause disaster and then pass the costs of their own mistakes off on you, the American consumer. Does anyone really believe that these folks care any more for our precious earth than BP did in spilling untold millions of gallons of crude into the world ocean??
The truth of the matter is that these folks are relics of a bygone era. It is time to replace them, and their product. Since the 70s we have known we had a problem with fossil fuels providing our energy. These very folks have bought off enough folks within both parties in government since then to insure that alternatives research would not be adequately funded to provide a breakthrough, and new way to provide energy. All this was done for sheer greed both by the oil companies, and their apologists and bought off shills within our government.
I for one do not trust any of these people as far as I can spit them. It is time they were replaced. Instead of feeling the pain of outrageous gas prices and ecological holocaust Americans need to feel a new pain. The pain of investing in the research and development of the fuels of the future using American ingenuity, land, resources and people. Unlike oil, this is an investment that will pay real dividends as Americans are once again put to work in an exciting new industry, jobs that cannot be outsourced or eliminated. Jobs that make America the leader of the world once more.
Hopefully this time Americans en masse will realize that our government has let us down for the better part of four decades for the same greed that drives the oil companies. It is time we thought about the betterment of our country and world first, and the profits of a dirty, dangerous industry that served its purpose long ago and needs to be phased out last. A new day has dawned and the raping of the Gulf of Mexico should show us all it is long overdue that we lead the world into a new day when fossil fuels are finally replaced by real clean, efficient and safer fuels.
Whatever we do I just hope we have learned at least that we simply cannot entrust the earth or sea to any of these selfish individuals whose actions against their fellow man and the earth we live on are far past criminal. |
